Advantages: Far too many to mention
Disadvantages: Too few to worry about

..., the timing really couldn’t have been better! All I had to do now was to convince my husband to support me for the next three years, while I became a decadent student! Surprisingly, he took very little convincing, and since I began the course he’s been my staunchest supporter… But enough of all of that, let me get on with telling you about the course, that’s what you’re all reading this opinion for, aren’t you? I applied for, and was quickly accepted onto, the course. Once the ubiquitous induction was out of the way, we soon got down to the writing itself. There were several things that I couldn’t help but notice even in the first week. For one thing, the actual lesson time for the Creative Writing degree is very light. For example, I’m currently in the second semester of the second year, and I only have lessons and workshops for eight... Read review

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Advantages: Lots of information, extremely clear and helpful
Disadvantages: Over-explains and doesn't motivate or inspire

...or to someone who doesn’t have much confidence in their abilities. The advice is good, but it didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know and I didn’t feel that it applied to me. The next four chapters are slightly more useful, but pretty much irrelevant to me. They are: “Getting The Most out of Lectures and Seminars”, “Developing Your Group Work Skills”, “Mastering Open and Distance Learning Techniques” and “Making The Most of Information and Communications Technology”. Again, these are more useful to those returning to education after a longer gap, especially if you’re not used to computers. There is a good level of detail within these chapters – the chapter on group work even tells you how to deal with disruptive people, (although I’m sure most mature students would have come across their fair share of disruptive colleagues, acquaintances... Read review

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Advantages: Crisp refreshing taste
Disadvantages: bottle is actually not blue...

...At University I had a bit of a reputation for being a "Gin-sodden old bean"* as I would often be seen leaving Threshers, Victoria Wines or Bottoms Up with a bottle of gin. Not just any gin, or alcohol blend that purported to be gin, but Bombay Blue Sapphire. Whilst I would not advocate the long term merits of consuming it at a rate of two bottles a week - it is rather pricey for that, especially if you are a student on a budget, I would maintain that Sapphire is probably among the finest gins in Christendom. I am a fairly seasoned gin-drinker, having quaffed all sorts of gins through from Safeways own brand (actually not the worst I have ever had), Beefeater, Gordons, Tanqueray (the other gin of choice for me!) before I settled on Bombay Blue Sapphire. The difference is that whereas other gins contain around half a dozen aromatics... Read review

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Advantages: Save money
Disadvantages: Takes a bit of effort!

...As a recent PhD graduate, I have completed 8 years of university: three of those were spent as an undergraduate, one doing my master's degree, and the rest on completing my doctorate. I am also very proud to be in the small minority of ex-students who are not in debt (and I'm hoping it will stay that way now I've joined the Real World). Given this situation, I think you might agree that I have picked up a thing or two about thrifty student living over the years! I am writing this review to share some of this advice; it is aimed at those who are students now, will be students soon, or who have children who are/will be students, partly because this is where my experience lies and partly because the location of this category implies that the "thrift tips" are for those of a scholarly disposition. I hope that they are of use to someone out... Read review

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Advantages: Your student years can be the best of your life and following these tips may help
Disadvantages: But managing your student funds is always hard!

...As a student, one of the most important things you'll have to manage at university (more important even than alcohol and studying!) will be money. Obviously everyone is in a different situation - I can't give specific advice for everyone (you'll have to think about your own situation) but I hope some of these pointers will be helpful to everyone (not just students). I can't cover everything - in almost all cases you can probably find more specific information on whatever you're interested in on Ciao, but feel free to leave questions in comments. Before you go to University. Money shouldn't decide where you go and what you study, but regrettably in some cases it does. When applying for universities, think about how much they will cost. Consider, for example, whether you can have university accommodation (which is generally cheaper... Read review

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Advantages: Easy to use card, with sensible credit limit
Disadvantages: The words credit and students are a dangerous combination

...I have to admit that my sole reason for getting a student barclaycard was the fact they offered me £30 of waterstones vouchers, which was extremely useful as my first year book list is almost as long as my arm! However, since receiving my student barclaycard, I have been pleasantly suprised by its ease of use, as well as the excellent customer service I have been given. Before you ask, Barclays is an extremely "student friendly" bank unlike some of the other high street banks, and many of its branches have seperate student departments. When I went to my local branch to open my student account and student barclaycard, I was treated with the upmost respect by the student advisor, and was given all of the important information before I had to sign anything. There is no hard sell, and no pressure is put on you to open an account... Read review

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Advantages: Earn you money - very useful now there are no grants.
Disadvantages: Can harm your studies if not done sensibly.

...I am going to give some practical tips about how to decide what type of work you want/are able to do, how to find work, and how to manage it around your studies. During my first year at University I had four jobs at one point, and still got a First, so feel I should be able to give you some useful information in this area, based on my own and my friends’ experiences. Deciding on what type of work you want/are able to do. ****************************************************** As a student the largest factor determining this is usually MONEY! Are you looking for a job to pay the rent, or just one for some extra spending money and peace of mind? Jobs for when money is tight… ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Firstly you could ask your course tutor or your personal tutor about the possibility of sponsorship from... Read review

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Advantages: There are many alternatives to giving up studying.
Disadvantages: Studying is so expensive debt is unfortunately a fact of student life.

...I am going to give you some practical tips on how to prevent debt ruining your studies. I will outline all your possible options and describe any personal experiences myself or my friends have had with these options. There are many alternatives to giving up your studies when money gets tight. Here are the ones I know of. If you know of any others feel free to add them in the comments section to help future readers further. 1 Get free health care. This first one should be done by all students, not just those in debt. Fill in a medical exception form – available from chemists, opticians, dentists etc. This entitles you to all kinds of free medical care such as prescriptions, eye checks and an upgrade of glasses lenses if you keep the existing frames or money off contact lenses, dental check-ups, etc. Unless you... Read review

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Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Bad customer service, scrapping interest free overdraft on the bank account

...Please note this review refers to the HSBC Student Service, not just their credit card, which is not worth bothering with anyway. I have had a student account with HSBC for seven years (I know what you're thinking, I'm the classic work dodger with too many degrees), and at first I had no problems with them. Recently however they have changed the terms and conditions of their Graduate account, which will directly and adversely affect anyone with a HSBC Student account. When I signed up for the student account it was clearly stated in all their literature that when you graduate your Student account would automatically switch to a Graduate account, and the terms and conditions of the Graduate account at that time stated that the account would retain the interest free overdraft that was part of the Student account for a year after graduation... Read review

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Advantages: Free overdraft facility, free gifts.
Disadvantages: Very low interest rates.

...I am going to give you some information regarding how to choose the right student bank account for you. I will also give you information regarding how to use it effectively and how to manage your money in general regarding banking and interest rates while you are a student. 1) Get a student account with a good overdraft facility. There are plenty of student bank accounts out there so shop around to get the best deal. Apply for one within the first month or so of joining Uni as they tend to do special offers, which do not carry on all year round. For example I got a HSBC Student Account and the special offer was £50 cash! The points to look for however are not the special offer primarily. You need to look first at what overdraft facilities there are e.g. is it free, how much is it, does this increase during your years of study... Read review

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